gone.”
The color beneath Derora’s rouge seeped away, leaving the cosmetic to stand on its own. “Gone?” she echoed. “Gone where?”
“B-Back to his camp. He said it would be b-better if he left—”
Considering that she might well have been done out of a night’s room rent, an event she wouldn’t take lightly, Derora seemed strangely relieved. A fact which made her question that much more of a shock. “Have you been dallying with Joel Shiloh, Tess?”
“D-Dallying?”
“Don’t be coy, my dear. You know perfectly well what I mean. Did you allow that man to take liberties with your person?”
Coming from Derora, such a suggestion was indeed ironic, but Tess wouldn’t have dared to laugh. She wasn’t inclined to anyway; she was too insulted. “I most certainly did not,” she said, holding her chin high.
Derora further surprised her niece by giving a high, trilling burst of amusement. “I thought you might have taken that free love lecture seriously—don’t try to deny that you heard it, Tess, because I saw you sitting there with that Hamilton girl—and it’s obvious that you’re taken with Mr. Shiloh or there wouldn’t be a photograph like this one, would there?”
Tess reached tentatively for the picture, Derora withheld it.
“Oh, no. This is mine. Do you realize what a scandal this could have started, Tess? Why, if Mr. Hamilton hadn’t warned me—”
“A simple photograph?” Tess broke in, in angry wonder. “How could that start a scandal?”
“It implies improper familiarity, Tess!” snapped Derora, impatient now, red with conviction.
“You’re a fine one to talk about improper familiarity!” Tess burst out.
She was immediately and soundly slapped for her trouble. “I will not endure such insolence, Tess, not for one moment! If it hadn’t been for Mr. Beauchamp—may he fry in hell—and myself, you would have been alone in this world! Alone. May I remind you that we took you in, that we gave you a home after your dear, foolish mother lost her mind?”
Dear, foolish Mother. How Tess missed her, how she wished that they had never come to this place, hoping to make a new life. If they’d stayed in St. Louis ….
But they hadn’t. Mr. Asa Thatcher, Esquire, her mother’s lover, had grown tired of his mistress and turned her out of her gilded cage, along with Tess, his illegitimate child. It had all been handled by minions, of course, clerks from his law firm. Olivia Bishop had had no choice but to pawn what remained of her jewelry, garnered during the days of favor, and buy train tickets for herself and her daughter.
Olivia must have loved Asa Thatcher, dour curmudgeon that he was, for even in the West, where men were anxious to court so lovely a woman, even willing to overlook her past, she had not thrived. No, she had written long letters to Asa, Olivia had, and when there were no answers, she had sighed and shed tears and gradually faded away into a staring silence that excluded the rest of the world.
Tess shook away memories of her unconventional mother and swallowed hard. As a substitute parent, Derora had been cold and largely disinterested, but she had provided food and shelter for her sister’s love child. She had seen that her niece finished school, and after that she had given Tess work to do, there at theboardinghouse, instead of marrying her off or simply turning her out. Furthermore, she had settled Olivia in a good hospital in Portland.
“I didn’t mean to be ungrateful, Aunt Derora,” Tess said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be,” came the clipped response, and Derora turned and swept away, skirts rustling, the photograph of Joel Shiloh still in her possession.
Tess hadn’t much spirit for attending a burlesque show, even if it was being performed on a riverboat. She wanted to rush to Joel Shiloh, like a wanton, and ask him to take her with him wherever he might travel. But she had promised Emma that she would go, and she intended to
The color beneath Derora’s rouge seeped away, leaving the cosmetic to stand on its own. “Gone?” she echoed. “Gone where?”
“B-Back to his camp. He said it would be b-better if he left—”
Considering that she might well have been done out of a night’s room rent, an event she wouldn’t take lightly, Derora seemed strangely relieved. A fact which made her question that much more of a shock. “Have you been dallying with Joel Shiloh, Tess?”
“D-Dallying?”
“Don’t be coy, my dear. You know perfectly well what I mean. Did you allow that man to take liberties with your person?”
Coming from Derora, such a suggestion was indeed ironic, but Tess wouldn’t have dared to laugh. She wasn’t inclined to anyway; she was too insulted. “I most certainly did not,” she said, holding her chin high.
Derora further surprised her niece by giving a high, trilling burst of amusement. “I thought you might have taken that free love lecture seriously—don’t try to deny that you heard it, Tess, because I saw you sitting there with that Hamilton girl—and it’s obvious that you’re taken with Mr. Shiloh or there wouldn’t be a photograph like this one, would there?”
Tess reached tentatively for the picture, Derora withheld it.
“Oh, no. This is mine. Do you realize what a scandal this could have started, Tess? Why, if Mr. Hamilton hadn’t warned me—”
“A simple photograph?” Tess broke in, in angry wonder. “How could that start a scandal?”
“It implies improper familiarity, Tess!” snapped Derora, impatient now, red with conviction.
“You’re a fine one to talk about improper familiarity!” Tess burst out.
She was immediately and soundly slapped for her trouble. “I will not endure such insolence, Tess, not for one moment! If it hadn’t been for Mr. Beauchamp—may he fry in hell—and myself, you would have been alone in this world! Alone. May I remind you that we took you in, that we gave you a home after your dear, foolish mother lost her mind?”
Dear, foolish Mother. How Tess missed her, how she wished that they had never come to this place, hoping to make a new life. If they’d stayed in St. Louis ….
But they hadn’t. Mr. Asa Thatcher, Esquire, her mother’s lover, had grown tired of his mistress and turned her out of her gilded cage, along with Tess, his illegitimate child. It had all been handled by minions, of course, clerks from his law firm. Olivia Bishop had had no choice but to pawn what remained of her jewelry, garnered during the days of favor, and buy train tickets for herself and her daughter.
Olivia must have loved Asa Thatcher, dour curmudgeon that he was, for even in the West, where men were anxious to court so lovely a woman, even willing to overlook her past, she had not thrived. No, she had written long letters to Asa, Olivia had, and when there were no answers, she had sighed and shed tears and gradually faded away into a staring silence that excluded the rest of the world.
Tess shook away memories of her unconventional mother and swallowed hard. As a substitute parent, Derora had been cold and largely disinterested, but she had provided food and shelter for her sister’s love child. She had seen that her niece finished school, and after that she had given Tess work to do, there at theboardinghouse, instead of marrying her off or simply turning her out. Furthermore, she had settled Olivia in a good hospital in Portland.
“I didn’t mean to be ungrateful, Aunt Derora,” Tess said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be,” came the clipped response, and Derora turned and swept away, skirts rustling, the photograph of Joel Shiloh still in her possession.
Tess hadn’t much spirit for attending a burlesque show, even if it was being performed on a riverboat. She wanted to rush to Joel Shiloh, like a wanton, and ask him to take her with him wherever he might travel. But she had promised Emma that she would go, and she intended to
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